HERNE BAY HIDEAWAY

At the end of a long driveway and nestled amongst the neighbouring houses and established pohutukawa trees, an existing 1960’s brick & tile home sat stubbornly in the middle of the site. While functional, the existing dwelling provided a confronting car-centric entry and failed to engage with the landscape or the spectacular views over Cox’s Bay.

Lloyd Hartley were asked to transform this house into a modern home that responds to its context and provides a private city oasis for a young family.

The primary architectural strategy is a covered entry courtyard, with the house bridging over, to create a pedestrian friendly entrance. This space also provides a sense of release to the end of the long drive via borrowed views to neighbouring tennis-court.

The spatial enhancement of crucial areas is a key driver to the rest of the design with the open stairwell drawing in light from above and the main living areas given extra height to fully embrace the stunning outlook and natural light.

The house is extended to provide a direct link to the rear landscaping and exterior upper level decks are provided to allow the various living areas and courtyards to connect.

A carefully selected palette of natural materials and clean detailing ties the house together creating a cohesive and timeless whole.

photography by David Straight

TWIN BATHROOMS

Two new bathrooms within an Auckland bungalow that make the most of natural light and quality materials.Small but well refined spaces that add a definite element of luxury and spatial appreciation to a suburban home.

photography by Jackie Meiring

BROOKLYN APARTMENT

Situated on the top NW corner of a 1930's Neo-Georgian / Art Deco building in Central Auckland this project involved a full internal renovation of the living and bedroom areas within this 70m2 apartment.

The apartment has been modernised while preserving the integrity of the spaces.A new kitchen and wardrobe as well as parquet timber flooring throughout were the major additions and the whole apartment was future-proofed with new wiring, lighting and all the necessary 21st century amenity.

The entire home is now a bright, spacious light-filled place to live.

photography by David Straight

MAIRANGI BAY ALTERATION

This project involved two distinct areas of construction.

The exterior renovation works replaced an old dilapidated deck with a new outdoor pavilion that extends the upper floor living areas out to the north, embracing the spectacular views over Mairangi Bay and along the East Coast and also provides a connection to the large lawn below. Operable overhead louvres and sliding screens provide a variety of options for enclosing and opening dependent on the outside environment.

The interior bathroom works was the consolidation of three strangely separated cubicles. The new design reinforced this integration with a simplicity and consistency of materials and introduced a curved wall into the shower. Elements of black steel, consistent withthe exterior alterations, were incorporated into the custom-made cabinetry. Southern windows that adjoined the entrance and driveway were removed and replaced with a large skylight over the bath, allowing light to wash softly into the room.

Client testimonial:Our experience working with Lloyd Hartley couldn’t have been better. Their ideas and design suited us perfectly and the results are brilliant. Working with the team was a breeze. As well as being professional, prompt and responsive on all matters, dealing with them was also fun and enjoyable. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Lloyd Hartley and would absolutely use them again in the future

photography by Jackie Meiring

THE LONG GOODBYE

Like many holiday homes, this Waiheke bach was all about the view from the upper living areas and turned its back on the moment of arrival and departure.This project embraces these moments and provides an architectural stage for The Long Goodbye.By moving the main entrance away from the lower level and creating a theatrical stair up the side of the building you can pause on the way out for that final conversation, that last drink and one more hug goodbye.

photography by David Straight and Lloyd Hartley

THE TAILORED HOME

Presented with a client holding a prominent position within the New Zealand couture fashion industry, we explored the metaphor of tailoring to provide an altered silhouette and 'clothing' for an existing plastered home with Modernist intentions. As such, this project became a study in finding methods to express hems, darts and trims to create a crafted and bespoke re-clad solution.

The materiality was selected to enhance the handcrafted nature of the dwelling's new clothes. The narrow cedar boards suggest a finely woven suiting material and the carefully crafted folded seams of the aluminuim roofing panels further this tailored approach.

The fitted garment notion is most explicitly seen in the Entry where the upper and lower levels of the building are connected using an overlay device of backlit perforated metal screens to create a type of facing or cuff to define the Entry. The perforated metal panels are defined through a gold piping and are given a fabric like bias through the directional back lighting. The soffit to wall junction over this area is deliberately negotiated using a folded metal flashing to provide a hem to the base of the vertical cedar cladding, stopping the visual unraveling of this edge and concealing the underside of the ever present cavity closer.

The home now reads as a cohesive whole, cutting a fine figure on its prominent waterfront site.

photography by David Straight

MODEL MAKING

Part of the architectural process that we really enjoy is the making of physical models.

These models are both a presentation tool for putting across design ideas to our clients and a means of interrogating a design on a pared back sculptural level.By stepping back from the computer and using our hands it allow us an additional level of engagement with a project.